“You must be a spy!” the Russian exclaimed. I laughed and raised my glass.

I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t a spy and he knew it—I think. Finding myself in such situations was commonplace. I was an American engineer in Russia, and just a few years before, the Soviet Union had been our Cold War adversary. Now I must find a way to work with the engineers and technicians who are likely to distrust me. How do I navigate the environment in another country where nobody I work with speaks English? How do we find common ground? What customs will I run afoul of? The landscape is uncertain and success is not assured, but what binds us together is a common goal: get the Tu-144 flying again and collect data on its operation. At our core we are the same: engineers with a job to do and families to feed. We focus on our commonalities, not our differences, although they do surface regularly.

This is the true story of those unusual and often heart-warming encounters—the human element in a technical interaction that not only led to a successful flight research program, but also allowed two former adversaries to catch glimpses of each other’s worlds. Familiarity brings understanding—and trust. But not everything goes smoothly.